Axcelis Technologies, assignee of the present invention, designs and sells products for processing of silicon wafers during integrated circuit fabrication. One such product or tool is sold under the designation MC-3. This tool creates an ion beam that modifies the physical properties of wafers that are placed into the ion beam. This process can be used, for example, to dope the silicon from which the unprocessed wafer is made to produce a semiconductor material. Controlled use of masking with resist materials prior to ion implantation as well as layering of different dopant patterns within the wafer produce an integrated circuit for use in one of a myriad of applications.
A variety of other tools are used during integrated circuit fabrication. These tools include rapid thermal processing of wafers under controlled conditions to anneal the wafers. Other tools are used to apply photoresist in controlled patterns onto the wafers. Tools are used to remove photoresist materials from the wafers during an ashing process. Other tools are used to cut the processed wafers into individual integrated circuits.
An ion implantation chamber of an ion beam implanter such as a model MC-3 implanter is maintained at reduced pressure. Subsequent to acceleration along a beam line, the ions in the beam enter the implantation chamber and strike the wafer. In order to position the wafer within the ion implantation chamber, they are moved by a robot into a load lock from a cassette or storage device delivered to the implanter by a conveyor system or by other means of delivery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,080 to Sieradzki concerns a system for high speed movement of work-pieces in vacuum processing. The system employs two wafer transport robots for moving wafers from two load locks past a processing station. Additional patents relating to serial end stations are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,350,097, 6,555,825, and 5,003,183.